Web applications are applications accessed over a network using a web browser. E-mail, social media sites, online retail sites, and online banking are familiar examples of online applications. Many online applications require user authentication, i.e., a determination that a user accessing an online application is who the user purports to be. For example, a password, a certificate, a verifiable contact address (e.g., email address or cell phone number), or a combination of such identifiers, can be used to authenticate a user.
In some cases, an authentication procedure can be built into an application. In other cases, the authentication procedure can exist independently of the application. For example, rather than require separate authentications for each of a suite of web applications, the web applications can share a single-sign-on (SSC)) procedure so that a user authenticated for one web application can use the others without additional authentication procedures. Once a user is authenticated and all the prerequisite files, if any, for a web application have been transferred, the user can use the web application.